| 1. |
- Lagerin, Annica, et al.
(author)
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District nurses' experiences of using a clinical decision support system and an assessment tool at elderly care units in primary health care : a qualitative study
- 2021
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In: Primary Health Care Research and Development. - 1463-4236 .- 1477-1128. ; 22
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Aim: The present study aimed to describe the experience of district nurses (DNs) in using a clinical decision support system (CDSS) and the safe medication assessment (SMA) tool during patient visits to elderly care units at primary health care centres. Background: In Swedish primary health care, general practitioners (GPs) prescribe and have the responsibility to regularly review older adults' medications, while DN (nurses specialised in primary health care) play an important role in assessing older adults' ability to manage their medications, detecting potential drug-related problems and communicating with patients and GPs about such problems. In a previous feasibility study, we found that DNs who use a combination of a CDSS and the SMA tool identified numerous potentially harmful or dangerous factors and took a number of nursing care actions to improve the safety and quality of patients' medication use. In telephone interviews, patients indicated that they were positive towards the assessment and interventions. Methods: Individual interviews with seven DNs who worked at six different primary health care centres in Region Stockholm were carried out in 2018. In 2019, an additional group interview was conducted with two of the seven DNs so they could discuss and comment on preliminary findings. Qualitative content analysis was used to analyse the interview transcripts. Findings: Using the tools, the DNs could have a natural conversation about medication use with older adults. They could get a clear picture of the older adults' medication use and thus obtain information that could facilitate collaboration with GPs about this important component of health care for older adults. However, for the tools to be used in clinical practice, some barriers would have to be overcome, such as the time-consuming nature of using the tools and the lack of established routines for interprofessional collaboration regarding medication discussions.
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| 2. |
- Lagerin, Annica, et al.
(author)
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District nurses' use of a decision support and assessment tool to improve the quality and safety of medication use in older adults : a feasibility study
- 2020
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In: Primary Health Care Research and Development. - 1463-4236 .- 1477-1128. ; 21
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Aim: To investigate whether district nurses (DNs) can identify factors related to the quality and safety of medication use among older patients via a clinical decision support system (CDSS) for medication and an instrument for assessing the safety of drug use [the Safe Medication Assessment tool (SMA)]. A secondary aim was to describe patients' experiences of the assessment. Background: DNs in Stockholm County have the opportunity to establish special units at primary health care centers (PHCCs) for patients aged 75 years and older. The units conduct drug utilization reviews and create care plans for older adults. Methods: Nine DNs at 7 PHCCs in Stockholm County used the tools with 45 patients aged 75 years and older who used one or more drugs. Outcome measures were the number of drugs, potential drug-related problems, nursing interventions, and patient satisfaction. Prevalences of drug-related problems and nursing interventions were calculated. Eleven patients answered a telephone questionnaire on their experiences of the assessment. Findings: DNs identified factors indicative of drug-related problems, including polypharmacy (9.8 drugs per person), potential drug-drug interactions (prevalence 40%), potential adverse drug reactions (2.7 per person), and prescribers from more than two medical units (60%). DNs used several nursing interventions to improve the safety of medication use (e.g., patient education, initiating a pharmaceutical review). The patients thought it was meaningful to receive information about their drug use and important to identify potential drug-related problems. With the support of the CDSS and the SMA tool, the DNs could identify several factors related to inappropriate or unsafe medication and initiated a number of interventions to improve medication use. The patients were positive toward the assessments. Using these tools, the DNs may help promote safe medication use in older patients.
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| 3. |
- Lundh, Lena, et al.
(author)
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Biomarkers, Clinical Course, and Individual Needs in COPD Patients in Primary Care : The Study Protocol of the Stockholm COPD Inflammation Cohort (SCOPIC)
- 2022
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In: The International Journal of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease. - : Dove Medical Press Ltd.. - 1176-9106 .- 1178-2005. ; 17, s. 993-1004
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Background: To facilitate effective personalized medicine, primary health care needs better methods of assessing and monitoring chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).Aim: This cohort study aims to investigate how biomarkers relate to clinical characteristics and COPD patients' subjective needs over time.Methods: Patients (n=750) in different COPD severity according to the GOLD criteria and age- and sex-matched controls (n=750) will be recruited over a period of 5 years from 15 primary health care centers in Region Stockholm, Sweden, and followed for 10 years in the first instance. Data on patients' subjective needs will be collected via telephone/email, data on clinical/physiological variables (eg, symptoms, exacerbations, comorbidities, medications, smoking habits, lung function) from existing databases that are based on medical records, and data on biomarkers via repeated blood sampling. Quantitative and qualitative methods will be used. Initial results are expected after 2 years (feasibility test), and a larger body of evidence after 5 years.Discussion: The study is expected to provide definitive and clinically useful scientific evidence about how biomarkers relate to clinical variables and patients' subjective needs. This new evidence will facilitate accurate, and personalized COPD management by the use of valid biomarkers. It will provide useful tools for primary care professionals and may facilitate optimal self-management.
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| 4. |
- Adebäck, Petra, et al.
(author)
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Children or adolescents who lost someone close during the Southeast Asia tsunami 2004 – The life as young
- 2022
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In: Brain and Behavior. - Oxford, United Kingdom : John Wiley & Sons. - 2162-3279 .- 2162-3279. ; 12:5
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Introduction: To lose a person close suddenly, during childhood or adolescence, can be devastating. Many children or adolescents experienced the 2004 Indonesian tsunami when they were between 10- and 15-years-old. This study, from Stockholm, Sweden, describes the long-term effects of loss, eight- or nine-years post disaster, in young adulthood.Method: A mixed-method approach was used including statistical analyses (n = 210) and interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA).Results: It was shown that there was a significant difference between bereaved (n=34) and nonbereaved (n = 176) respondents concerning, psychological distress, posttraumatic stress symptoms, and self-rated health. Three themes were found by using the IPA approach (n=9): Living in traumas, carrying heavy baggage, and living with change.Conclusion: The respondents described personal feelings of grief that are not expressed in their outward appearance or behavior in their daily living. When meeting young adults that have lost someone close in childhood or adolescence, this is important to have in mind.
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| 5. |
- Adebäck, Petra, et al.
(author)
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Late Reminders Nine Years Post Disaster in Adults Who As Children or Adolescents Were Exposed to the 2004 Southeast Asian Tsunami
- 2022
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In: Child Care in Practice. - : Taylor & Francis Group. - 1357-5279 .- 1476-489X. ; 28:3, s. 290-304
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Objective: The main aim of this study was to determine if young adults, who as children and adolescents were heavily exposed to the 2004 tsunami in Southeast Asia, had late reminders of this disaster nine years post disaster and, if so, how they handled these late reminders.Method: The subjects who had been exposed when they were between 10 and 15 years old were interviewed nine years post disaster when they had reached adulthood.Results: All those interviewed stated that they had experienced different late reminders of the 2004 tsunami even nine years later. They said that they could plan in advance or deal with late reminders should they occur. Two types of reminders were identified, one type designated as external and the other as internal. The interview subjects described how they had handled these reminders by striving for balance by thinking, talking, letting feelings out, doing something else or by avoiding.Conclusions: These young adults strived to find a balance between their function as adults in society and continued effects from the 2004 tsunami. A person, even if not affected functionally, can be affected in different ways in adulthood by the natural disaster they had experienced during childhood or adolescence. This is something important for anyone to think about when he or she meets persons who have been heavily exposed to a natural disaster many years earlier.
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| 6. |
- Annika, Lindh, 1984-, et al.
(author)
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One additional educational session in inhaler use to patients with COPD in primary health care : A controlled clinical trial
- 2022
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In: Patient Education and Counseling. - : Elsevier. - 0738-3991 .- 1873-5134. ; 105:9, s. 2969-2975
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- OBJECTIVE: To investigate whether one additional educational session about inhaler use, delivered to patients with COPD in primary healthcare, could affect the patients' skills in inhaler use. Specifically, to study the effects on errors related to handling the device, to inhalation technique, and to both.METHODS: This nonrandomized controlled clinical trial included 64 patients who used devices and made errors. COPD nurses assessed inhaler use using a checklist and educated patients. Intervention group received one additional educational session after two weeks.RESULTS: At baseline, patients in the IG had more devices (n = 2,1) compared to patients in the CG (n = 1,6) (p = 0.003). No other statistically significant differences were seen at baseline. At follow-up, intervention group showed a lower proportion of patients who made errors related to handling the device (p = 0.006). No differences were seen in the other categories.CONCLUSION: One additional educational session in inhaler use for patients with COPD was effective in reducing the proportion of patients making errors related to handling of their devices.PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS: Categorization of errors might help healthcare professionals to assess the suitability of patients' devices, tailor patient education, and thus improve patient health.
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| 7. |
- Erlandsson, Lena, et al.
(author)
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Exposure to wood smoke particles leads to inflammation, disrupted proliferation and damage to cellular structures in a human first trimester trophoblast cell line
- 2020
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In: Environmental Pollution. - : Elsevier. - 0269-7491 .- 1873-6424. ; 264
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The ongoing transition to renewable fuel sources has led to increased use of wood and other biomass fuels. The physiochemical characteristics of biomass combustion derived aerosols depends on appliances, fuel and operation procedures, and particles generated during incomplete combustion are linked to toxicity. Frequent indoor wood burning is related to severe health problems such as negative effects on airways and inflammation, as well as chronic hypoxia and pathological changes in placentas, adverse pregnancy outcome, preterm delivery and increased risk of preeclampsia. The presence of combustion-derived black carbon particles at both the maternal and fetal side of placentas suggests that particles can reach the fetus. Air pollution particles have also been shown to inhibit trophoblast migration and invasion, which are vital functions for the development of the placenta during the first trimester. In this study we exposed a placental first trimester trophoblast cell line to wood smoke particles emitted under Nominal Burn rate (NB) or High Burn rate (HB). The particles were visible inside exposed cells and localized to the mitochondria, causing ultrastructural changes in mitochondria and endoplasmic reticulum. Exposed cells showed decreased secretion of the pregnancy marker human chorionic gonadotropin, increased secretion of IL-6, disrupted membrane integrity, disrupted proliferation and contained specific polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) from the particles. Taken together, these results suggest that wood smoke particles can enter trophoblasts and have detrimental effects early in pregnancy by disrupting critical trophoblast functions needed for normal placenta development and function. This could contribute to the underlying mechanisms leading to pregnancy complications such as miscarriage, premature birth, preeclampsia and/or fetal growth restriction. This study support the general recommendation that more efficient combustion technologies and burning practices should be adopted to reduce some of the toxicity generated during wood burning.
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| 8. |
- Lundh, Kerstin, et al.
(author)
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Oral provocation of patients allergic to sesquiterpene lactones with German chamomile tea to demonstrate possible systemic allergic dermatitis
- 2020
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In: Contact Dermatitis. - : Wiley. - 0105-1873 .- 1600-0536. ; 83:1, s. 8-18
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Background: Most patients with contact allergy to Asteraceae plants are patch test positive to sesquiterpene lactone mix (SLM). There are several reports among these patients of a flare-up of hand eczema after ingestion of food and beverages originating from Asteraceae plants. Aim: To investigate whether German chamomile tea can elicit systemic allergic dermatitis. Patients and Methods: Individuals with or without contact allergy to SLM were patch tested with an extract of German chamomile tea. Six weeks later, they were provoked with capsules containing either freeze-dried German chamomile tea or placebo capsules containing lactose, in a double-blind, randomized study. A numerical rating scale (NRS) was used to ascertain the volunteers' opinion of their hand eczema status. The study individuals were examined to detect a possible flare-up of healed patch test reactions to chamomile. Results: None of the subjects had a flare-up of healed patch test reactions. According to the NRS, SLM-positive individuals experienced a significant worsening of hand eczema, independently of whether they received chamomile or lactose capsules. Conclusion: No evidence suggestive of systemic allergic dermatitis was found.
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| 9. |
- Nääv, Åsa, et al.
(author)
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Urban PM2.5 Induces Cellular Toxicity, Hormone Dysregulation, Oxidative Damage, Inflammation, and Mitochondrial Interference in the HRT8 Trophoblast Cell Line
- 2020
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In: Frontiers in Endocrinology. - : Frontiers Media SA. - 1664-2392. ; 11
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Objective: Epidemiological studies have found air pollution to be a driver of adverse pregnancy outcomes, including gestational diabetes, low term birth weight and preeclampsia. It is unknown what biological mechanisms are involved in this process. A first trimester trophoblast cell line (HTR-8/SVneo) was exposed to various concentrations of PM2.5 (PM2.5) in order to elucidate the effect of urban particulate matter (PM) of size <2.5 μm on placental function. Methods: PM2.5 were collected at a site representative of urban traffic and dispersed in cell media by indirect and direct sonication. The HTR-8 cells were grown under standard conditions. Cellular uptake was studied after 24 and 48 h of exposure by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The secretion of human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG), progesterone, and Interleukin-6 (IL-6) was measured by ELISA. Changes in membrane integrity and H2O2 production were analyzed using the CellToxTM Green Cytotoxicity and ROSGloTM assays. Protease activity was evaluated by MitoToxTM assay. Mitochondrial function was assessed through high resolution respirometry in an Oroboros O2k-FluoRespirometer, and mitochondrial content was quantified by citrate synthase activity. Results: TEM analysis depicted PM2.5 cellular uptake and localization of the PM2.5 to the mitochondria after 24 h. The cells showed aggregated cytoskeleton and generalized necrotic appearance, such as chromatin condensation, organelle swelling and signs of lost membrane integrity. The mitochondria displayed vacuolization and disruption of cristae morphology. At 48 h exposure, a significant drop in hCG secretion and a significant increase in progesterone secretion and IL-6 production occurred. At 48 h exposure, a five-fold increase in protease activity and a significant alteration of H2O2 production was observed. The HTR-8 cells exhibited evidence of increased cytotoxicity with increasing exposure time and dose of PM2.5. No significant difference in mitochondrial respiration or mitochondrial mass could be demonstrated. Conclusion: Following exposure to air pollution, intracellular accumulation of PM may contribute to the placental dysfunction associated with pregnancy outcomes, such as preeclampsia and intrauterine growth restriction, through their direct and indirect effects on trophoblast protein secretion, hormone regulation, inflammatory response, and mitochondrial interference.
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| 10. |
- Thurfjell, Åsa, et al.
(author)
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General practitioners' experiences of Phosphatidylethanol in treatment of hypertension : A qualitative study
- 2023
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In: BJGP Open. - 2398-3795. ; 7:4
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- BACKGROUND: Hazardous alcohol use increases the risk of hypertension but is underdetected in primary health care patients. Use of the biomarker phosphatidylethanol (PEth), which reflects the last two to three weeks of alcohol consumption, is increasing in Swedish primary health care, but studies from that context are scarce or missing.AIM: Explore general practitioners' (GPs') experiences of using PEth to identify hazardous alcohol use in the context of managing hypertension.DESIGN & SETTING: A qualitative study of GPs (n=12) experienced in using PEth in hypertension management who were recruited at Swedish primary health care centres in 2021.METHOD: The GPs participated in five focus groups interviews. A questioning route was used. The interviews were audio recorded, transcribed verbatim, and analysed with inductive qualitative content analysis.RESULTS: The overall theme I don't hesitate anymore reflects the disappearance of GPs' fear that the PEth result might upset the patient, as this rarely occurred and that the positive effects of PEth predominated in the findings. The theme is underpinned by four sub-themes: serving as an eyeopener, improving the dialogue, using with care, and learning by doing.CONCLUSION: PEth is a useful tool that changed GPs' routines for addressing alcohol and identifying hazardous alcohol use in patients with hypertension managed in primary health care. The GPs advocated adopting PEth as a routine test in the treatment of hypertension. However, PEth needs to be used with care to maximise benefit and minimise harm.
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